Michael Gove has been lambasted for meddling with the English GCSE syllabus, but is it due for an overhaul? Mary Beard, William Boyd, Hanif Kureishi, Will Self and other cultural figures choose their set texts. Which books would you pick?

Russell Brand has not used drugs for 10 years. He has a job, a house, a cat, good friends. But temptation is never far away. He wants to help other addicts, but first he wants us to feel compassion for those affected